This past Saturday the Nakba crowd had a hip-hop music party down at Civic Center. A little friendly hate-fest to introduce that segment of the population that listens to rap to the concept of reviling the Jews.
At least, that is what they intended when they first came up with the idea several weeks ago.
Instead they had to opt for a 'family event' - more because they couldn't get the headliners they wanted and were afraid that too few people would attend than that they disagreed with their own message (destroy Israel and drive the Jews into the sea). So desperate were they for attendees that instead of appealing to disaffected urban teenagers they begged middle-aged householders to bring the weib and kinder.
By all standards, the event was a failure. A few hundred local Palestinians, a handfull of the 'already-converted', and their friends, relatives, fetishists - not a success. Not the mass-happening of righteous indignation and au-courant musical taste they were hoping for. Not a mob-scene of angry urban angst and fervor.
More of a "what-ever" than a "wow, dude!"
[That can't have pleased the pro-Palestinian 'gender-ambiguating' Jews who helped organize it - Perry Bellow-Handelman, Libby Goldberg, Kinneret Israel, Sarah Kershnar, et al - they were probably hoping for a young angry crowd that could be moved to riot righteously and revolutionarily. "Onward the proletariat, comrades. Loot a FootLocker. Break a window. Show the pigs, yeah." Alas. Sorry that you couldn't squeal and wet your panties this time, gals.]
No matter their change of audience, we still disagreed with their message. So we showed up to counter-demonstrate. Yes, I know that's 'carrying on shabbes'. Think of it as part of a milchemes mitzva.
[The 'we' in this case being San Francisco voice for Israel. http://www.sfvoiceforisrael.org/ ]
I can't say I found the music entirely to my taste. The lyrics left a lot to be desired - particularly the song in which every other word seemed to be "da-joo" (or "da-jooz"). Most of the time actual words were unintelligible, no matter which 'artist' was representin'. A big fan of hip-hop I'm not.
Bring on the accordions.
Just after we arranged ourselves on the library corner, a few angry Nakba-Jews came over to carefully photograph all of us individually (probably for the wanted posters - smile at the mangy heffalump, chaveir).
A pro-Palestinian female with pearcings and tattoos who loudly insisted that she was Jewish, and her ill-looking companion, got into a long bitch-fight with a lone policeman, who insisted that they go back across the street.
A revolutionary black woman screamed a string of filthy terms at us.
A giddy Arab kept dancing out into the intersection waving a Palestinian flag and looking for a fight - the same policeman kept firmly directing him back to his side. Some little boys had fun waving bloody fist resistance banners. And periodically people passing by would demonstrate vocally that San Francisco is indeed ground-zero of anti-Semitism and lunacy west of the Rockies.
Or leastways, ground-zero of the under-medicated.
We have stellar nutballs in this town. I wonder whom they intended to convert by yelling obscenities and threats. Certainly not us. Perhaps the grim folks on the other side. Maybe the Palestinians will give them a sandwich if they but demonstrate their deep-seated grasp of revolutionary terminology.
And possibly remember them favourably when they hang out in front of the liquor store.
On the other hand, I did have a few pleasant exchanges with Arabs heading past. One in particular with any entire family about keffiyot, red fabric dye versus shocking pink underwear, and made-in-China versus local manufacture. Of course they disagreed with our message - but they were very pleasant people. Precisely the kind of people whom you wouldn't mind having as neighbors.
If it weren't for the fact that it left me tense and drained, it would've been a very nice Saturday indeed. Hate-fests in Civic Center could well become the ultimate San Francisco experience. You haven't really visited San Francisco until you've been drenched with angry rhetoric.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Friday, May 09, 2008
QUESTIONABLE MORALS AND CRIPPLED ETHICS
No, this isn't about the Nakba Jews who acted so disgracefully yesterday at the JCC. Or about the kapos who have embraced AlAwda and MECA. Or even JVP.
[This is NOT about Barbara Lubin (MECA), Perry Bellow-Handelman (currently at the PJA), Eric Romann, Libby Goldberg, Kinneret Israel (Midrasha teacher), Sarah Kershnar, Josie Shields-Stromsness (MECA), Kate Raphael (activist deported from Israel in 2005). They too are worth writing about, being the very embodiment of slime and repulsiveness..... in a stumbling and emotionally stunted sort of way. Collectively they are like a joke without a punchline, funny yet sad and schadenfreudic. Pathetic and juvenile. But we'll save them for a later post.]
Today I wish to draw your attention to Morris Talansky, the man involved with Prime Minister Olmert in what has every appearance of an influence peddling and bribery scandal.
Morris Talansky is a 75 year old rabbi and businessman who has funnelled money not only to Olmert, but also to Rudy Giuliani, President Bush, Senator Kennedy, President Clinton.....
[Campaign funding, of course. I would not wish to in any way suggest that politicians are corrupt, or even rapacious whores who will blow just about any sailor for candy and small change. Good heavens no.]
Morris Talansky appears to be an equal opportunity financier with perhaps an unhealthy interest in politicians. One who has been involved in law-suits whose practices and embroglios are sometimes .... "questionable".
And someone who has no qualms about selling high-resolution satelite imagery to Hugo Chavez.
For an excellent understanding of Talansky, visit Jameel's blog. Particularly this guestpost by Lurker: http://muqata.blogspot.com/2008/05/laundry-man.html and this post by Jameel http://muqata.blogspot.com/2008/05/bypassing-gag-order-olmert-scandal-237.html .
Reading those two posts will make clear why this latest scandal is more than a little disturbing, and why valid questions about the motives and morals, ethics and influence of both men must be raised.
It is getting harder to tell who Israel's enemies and who Israel's friends are. Sometimes there is an uncomfortable overlap.
Rectitude has become a forgotten concept.
Israel deserves much better than this.
[This is NOT about Barbara Lubin (MECA), Perry Bellow-Handelman (currently at the PJA), Eric Romann, Libby Goldberg, Kinneret Israel (Midrasha teacher), Sarah Kershnar, Josie Shields-Stromsness (MECA), Kate Raphael (activist deported from Israel in 2005). They too are worth writing about, being the very embodiment of slime and repulsiveness..... in a stumbling and emotionally stunted sort of way. Collectively they are like a joke without a punchline, funny yet sad and schadenfreudic. Pathetic and juvenile. But we'll save them for a later post.]
Today I wish to draw your attention to Morris Talansky, the man involved with Prime Minister Olmert in what has every appearance of an influence peddling and bribery scandal.
Morris Talansky is a 75 year old rabbi and businessman who has funnelled money not only to Olmert, but also to Rudy Giuliani, President Bush, Senator Kennedy, President Clinton.....
[Campaign funding, of course. I would not wish to in any way suggest that politicians are corrupt, or even rapacious whores who will blow just about any sailor for candy and small change. Good heavens no.]
Morris Talansky appears to be an equal opportunity financier with perhaps an unhealthy interest in politicians. One who has been involved in law-suits whose practices and embroglios are sometimes .... "questionable".
And someone who has no qualms about selling high-resolution satelite imagery to Hugo Chavez.
For an excellent understanding of Talansky, visit Jameel's blog. Particularly this guestpost by Lurker: http://muqata.blogspot.com/2008/05/laundry-man.html and this post by Jameel http://muqata.blogspot.com/2008/05/bypassing-gag-order-olmert-scandal-237.html .
Reading those two posts will make clear why this latest scandal is more than a little disturbing, and why valid questions about the motives and morals, ethics and influence of both men must be raised.
It is getting harder to tell who Israel's enemies and who Israel's friends are. Sometimes there is an uncomfortable overlap.
Rectitude has become a forgotten concept.
Israel deserves much better than this.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
WHAT TO DO WITH THOSE HORRIBLE THINGS
Every year around Easter (a holiday of unknown origin) a confection known as 'peeps' is distributed in huge quantities in the United States. It's a weird subcultural phenomenon - one which is not common in my subculture, but is nevertheless de rigueur among the well-bred treiler-treif, bless them.
Peeps are little spongy sugar-poof birds (marshmallows), usually coloured yellow, but also available in shocking pink and blue. They are edible, and they are not addicting - which begs the question why enough of them are produced every year to give a medium-size third-world country diabetes.
You probably have a large jute bag of them behind the kitchen door right now, don't you? Entirely aside from the inexplicable circumstances of your acquiring them, which is baffling in the extreme, you're probably still wondering what to do with all of them.
Especially before Mother's Day - you don't want to explain that frat-boy party to your mom when she visits. She already wonders what went wrong and why aren't you married to that sweet girl from Touro College.
She does not need to know about your.... Perversions.
BLUE PEEP PIE
1 cookie crumb pie crust.
1 large box (four servings) blue Jell-O.
1 cup hot water.
1 cup half-and-half.
3 cups chilled Coolwhip.
2 tablespoons Curacao.
16 blue Peeps.
1 cup canned blueberries.
Chill crust while preparing the filling. Pour hot water over Jell-O in a Pyrex bowl, and stir to dissolve. Add the half-and-half and Curacao. Blend well and refrigerate until mixture has thickened to a stiff cream consistency.
Fold Coolwhip into Jell-O. Mix well till no longer streaky, but no further than that. Spoon filling into chilled crust. Separate the peeps (they come attached) and arrange around the edge of the pie. Mound the canned blueberries in the center and smoosh flat. Chill for a few hours before serving.
------------------------------------
PS.I: Thanks are due my research assistant, the super boffo engineering dude, without whom I never would have discovered this epicurean treat.
PS.II: You could also perform scientific experiments on the peeps, like burning, dissolving in acid, launching with bottle-rockets, Tisha B'Av bondfiring, microwaving, melting onto hot concrete, rubber-band bondaging, flattening with various implements, or using them for target practice with an air-gun or a Glock semi-automatic. According to the super boffo engineering dude, this is traditional too.
NOTE I: Birds and raccoons will not touch peeps. That should tell you something.
NOTE II: This seemed like a good idea at the time. I have no idea why I thought so now.
Peeps are little spongy sugar-poof birds (marshmallows), usually coloured yellow, but also available in shocking pink and blue. They are edible, and they are not addicting - which begs the question why enough of them are produced every year to give a medium-size third-world country diabetes.
You probably have a large jute bag of them behind the kitchen door right now, don't you? Entirely aside from the inexplicable circumstances of your acquiring them, which is baffling in the extreme, you're probably still wondering what to do with all of them.
Especially before Mother's Day - you don't want to explain that frat-boy party to your mom when she visits. She already wonders what went wrong and why aren't you married to that sweet girl from Touro College.
She does not need to know about your.... Perversions.
BLUE PEEP PIE
1 cookie crumb pie crust.
1 large box (four servings) blue Jell-O.
1 cup hot water.
1 cup half-and-half.
3 cups chilled Coolwhip.
2 tablespoons Curacao.
16 blue Peeps.
1 cup canned blueberries.
Chill crust while preparing the filling. Pour hot water over Jell-O in a Pyrex bowl, and stir to dissolve. Add the half-and-half and Curacao. Blend well and refrigerate until mixture has thickened to a stiff cream consistency.
Fold Coolwhip into Jell-O. Mix well till no longer streaky, but no further than that. Spoon filling into chilled crust. Separate the peeps (they come attached) and arrange around the edge of the pie. Mound the canned blueberries in the center and smoosh flat. Chill for a few hours before serving.
------------------------------------
PS.I: Thanks are due my research assistant, the super boffo engineering dude, without whom I never would have discovered this epicurean treat.
PS.II: You could also perform scientific experiments on the peeps, like burning, dissolving in acid, launching with bottle-rockets, Tisha B'Av bondfiring, microwaving, melting onto hot concrete, rubber-band bondaging, flattening with various implements, or using them for target practice with an air-gun or a Glock semi-automatic. According to the super boffo engineering dude, this is traditional too.
NOTE I: Birds and raccoons will not touch peeps. That should tell you something.
NOTE II: This seemed like a good idea at the time. I have no idea why I thought so now.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
PLANTS ARE THE HIGHEST FORM OF LIFE!
Which, of course, is why the pro-Palestinian Woman In Black in this youtube video does not eat them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_ZoVFVwuRc
....Animals have mothers, plants do not have mothers. Plants are the highest form of life, eat animals but not plants. And tofu is racist .....
That seems to be her position as regards food - her position regarding Israel and the Palestinians is equally kopverdekont gedraaid.
Veat also gets mentioned - it's a chicken alternative for vegetarians. I keep neither kashrus nor vegetariyus....... but maybe I'll try it. Perhaps while affectionately petting my rhubarb or a bushel of legumes.
Or gluten. Gluten is also of vegetable origin, and probably very furry and affectionate.
This was one of the more interesting conversations with a pro-Palestinian we've had. Which is why I spent nearly an entire hour smiling.
---------------------------
Take a moment to check out some of the other youtube videos from bluetruth36. Especially Dick Becker of International ANSWER advocating fighter jets for Hamas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NHpfxxQzkc). It's a classic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_ZoVFVwuRc
....Animals have mothers, plants do not have mothers. Plants are the highest form of life, eat animals but not plants. And tofu is racist .....
That seems to be her position as regards food - her position regarding Israel and the Palestinians is equally kopverdekont gedraaid.
Veat also gets mentioned - it's a chicken alternative for vegetarians. I keep neither kashrus nor vegetariyus....... but maybe I'll try it. Perhaps while affectionately petting my rhubarb or a bushel of legumes.
Or gluten. Gluten is also of vegetable origin, and probably very furry and affectionate.
This was one of the more interesting conversations with a pro-Palestinian we've had. Which is why I spent nearly an entire hour smiling.
---------------------------
Take a moment to check out some of the other youtube videos from bluetruth36. Especially Dick Becker of International ANSWER advocating fighter jets for Hamas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NHpfxxQzkc). It's a classic.
OCCUPIES PREMISES IN BUILDING
Yours truly requests credit reports on businesses. It's a fairly standard thing to do - nothing unusual. I'm paid to be a snoop. So are the companies that put together commercial credit reports. Commercial customers have their credit researched. Normal.
Sometimes the credit report isn't worth the paper it's printed on (or would be printed on, if I bothered to print it out).
Especially when all the provider of the credit report can tell me about a business is "OCCUPIES PREMISES IN BUILDING".
OCCUPIES PREMISES IN BUILDING.
Weeee!
Who knew?
OCCUPIES PREMISES IN BUILDING!
I also occupy premises. In a building.
You, dear reader, probably do too.
Occupy premises in building, that is.
Many do. Building, premises, occupy ....... not uncommon.
The credit report provider's customer service chipmunks have tried to argue that this is useful information. Occupies premises in building.
It isn't.
The percentage of our customers who blithely conduct their business out in the field, fragrant hay for a desk and altocumulus for a ceiling, is very small.
Pretty much zip dash diddly. Statistically zilch. Nix im gonzen. Big fat zero. Scrawny anorexic zero. Zero in all worlds, including the ten sefirot. Zero squared, and zero behind the decimal.
How much more zero can it get?' The answer is 'none, none more zero, it can't get none more zero'.
As someone often on premises (in a building), I speak from a basis of familiarity, in this context, with the concept zero.
[Theatrically bangs fist on desk.]
LEAST USEFUL DATA EVER!
Sometimes the credit report isn't worth the paper it's printed on (or would be printed on, if I bothered to print it out).
Especially when all the provider of the credit report can tell me about a business is "OCCUPIES PREMISES IN BUILDING".
OCCUPIES PREMISES IN BUILDING.
Weeee!
Who knew?
OCCUPIES PREMISES IN BUILDING!
I also occupy premises. In a building.
You, dear reader, probably do too.
Occupy premises in building, that is.
Many do. Building, premises, occupy ....... not uncommon.
The credit report provider's customer service chipmunks have tried to argue that this is useful information. Occupies premises in building.
It isn't.
The percentage of our customers who blithely conduct their business out in the field, fragrant hay for a desk and altocumulus for a ceiling, is very small.
Pretty much zip dash diddly. Statistically zilch. Nix im gonzen. Big fat zero. Scrawny anorexic zero. Zero in all worlds, including the ten sefirot. Zero squared, and zero behind the decimal.
How much more zero can it get?' The answer is 'none, none more zero, it can't get none more zero'.
As someone often on premises (in a building), I speak from a basis of familiarity, in this context, with the concept zero.
[Theatrically bangs fist on desk.]
LEAST USEFUL DATA EVER!
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
PEACH BLOSSOMS
A person's musical tastes can tell you a lot.
Or, more often, not a darned thing.
For instance, despite the fact that I utterly despise hip-hop, rap, and pretty-much everything produced in the last twenty years, I am still very young at heart, and very liberal.
[Polite request to the peanut-gallery to shut the hell up at this point. Thank you.]
Hearing Yerushalayim Shel Zahav brings a tear to my eye. I'm a bit of a softy, and I like ballads.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzRvaS7gDJg]
Here are some of my favourite youtube moments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K1q9Ntcr5g
La Marsellaise - a nice long noisy version. Put this on full blast late in the day and scare the CFO.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTMQJi_wDi8
Ponderous yet rousing Russian version of the Internationale. Who doesn't like a nice commie anthem?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm_AmAs02rc
The Internationale again. This time in Dutch, sung by a socialist choral group that was founded in 1898 by Adolf Samson De Levita in Mokum Alef (Amsterdam), dissolved in 2002. This is probably one of the most beautiful renditions ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EHgT54Vxjs&feature=related
The Panzerlied. Well, at least the Moffen made the tanks run on time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5I-RTRBua0&feature=related
Bandiera Rossa - song of the Italian communists and of animatronic hippopotami.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIEUeMiJBhY&feature=related
Zhou Xuen (周璇) singing the four seasons song (四季歌), one of her early signature hits.
Zhou Xuen was in movies during the thirties and forties in Shanghai. She is divine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uawWkuOFBM
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem sing Kelly The Boy From Killane.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXvI0HaBIQY
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem perform Tim Finnegan's Wake.
Haven't been able to find The Winnipeg Whore on you tube yet, nor any other Oscar Brand songs.
".....Charlotte the harlot the girl we adore, the pride of the prairies the cow-punchers whore..."
Most national anthems leave me cold. They are fit for state funerals or drunken soccer hooliganism, little else.
I am still looking for Lung-Hwa De Tao Hwa (which, since the Shanghai purge in 1927, eternally yet with careful circumlocution recalls the martyrs shot by Chiang Kai-shek's goons). The peach blossoms at Lung Hwa are glorious, spring after spring - their fragrance is imperishable. Each year anew they bring tears to the eyes.
Or, more often, not a darned thing.
For instance, despite the fact that I utterly despise hip-hop, rap, and pretty-much everything produced in the last twenty years, I am still very young at heart, and very liberal.
[Polite request to the peanut-gallery to shut the hell up at this point. Thank you.]
Hearing Yerushalayim Shel Zahav brings a tear to my eye. I'm a bit of a softy, and I like ballads.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzRvaS7gDJg]
Here are some of my favourite youtube moments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K1q9Ntcr5g
La Marsellaise - a nice long noisy version. Put this on full blast late in the day and scare the CFO.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTMQJi_wDi8
Ponderous yet rousing Russian version of the Internationale. Who doesn't like a nice commie anthem?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm_AmAs02rc
The Internationale again. This time in Dutch, sung by a socialist choral group that was founded in 1898 by Adolf Samson De Levita in Mokum Alef (Amsterdam), dissolved in 2002. This is probably one of the most beautiful renditions ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EHgT54Vxjs&feature=related
The Panzerlied. Well, at least the Moffen made the tanks run on time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5I-RTRBua0&feature=related
Bandiera Rossa - song of the Italian communists and of animatronic hippopotami.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIEUeMiJBhY&feature=related
Zhou Xuen (周璇) singing the four seasons song (四季歌), one of her early signature hits.
Zhou Xuen was in movies during the thirties and forties in Shanghai. She is divine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uawWkuOFBM
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem sing Kelly The Boy From Killane.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXvI0HaBIQY
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem perform Tim Finnegan's Wake.
Haven't been able to find The Winnipeg Whore on you tube yet, nor any other Oscar Brand songs.
".....Charlotte the harlot the girl we adore, the pride of the prairies the cow-punchers whore..."
Most national anthems leave me cold. They are fit for state funerals or drunken soccer hooliganism, little else.
I am still looking for Lung-Hwa De Tao Hwa (which, since the Shanghai purge in 1927, eternally yet with careful circumlocution recalls the martyrs shot by Chiang Kai-shek's goons). The peach blossoms at Lung Hwa are glorious, spring after spring - their fragrance is imperishable. Each year anew they bring tears to the eyes.
Monday, May 05, 2008
HERBIVORE - THE EARTHLY GRILL
My friend Max has decided that he will henceforth boycott a chain of vegetarian restaurants in the Bay Area. I applaud this decision, and would do the same, except that not being a vegetarian (very much a meat-eater, thank you), it would be pointless for me to do so - I never patronized the restaurants in question in the first place.
Here is the letter that he sent informing them of his displeasure:
From: Max
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2008 3:09 PM
To: info@herbivorerestaurant.com
Subject: Corporate sponsorship of Nakba event
To whom it may concern,
I am surprised to see that Herbivore is listed as one of the corporate sponsors of the Nakba-60, FREE Palestine, Peace and Solidarity Festival.
I assume that you have researched both the event in question, and the implications of their stand regarding the Israel-Palestine issues. And can I therefore also assume that you are entirely comfortable with the destruction of Israel as inherent in their point of view, which would be the inevitable consequence of any of their positions becoming reality.
If that is indeed so, I can only assume that you neither appreciate the custom which many in the community have given you over the years, nor disagree with the anti-Semitism that has been displayed by the organizers of this event and their associates over the years, and which has been a blatant part of their political stand from the beginning.
That being the case I will no longer patronize any of your establishments. I only regret that I ever did so in the past. Rest assured that I will diligently inform as many people as possible of your reprehensible politics and recommend that they also cease their patronage.
------Max
------------------------------------
The restaurant mentioned in his letter:
http://www.herbivorerestaurant.com/
Three locations: 983 Valencia Street, 531 Divisadero, and 2451 Shattuck in Berkeley.
Listing of sponsors of May tenth Nakba event (click on sponsors):
http://www.araborganizing.org/main.html
Several of the usual haters, and some who are new to organized anti-Semitism.
Rainbow Grocery shows up in the guise of 'Rainbow Boycott Israeli Goods Campaign'. There has been an anti-Semitic element among the members of that collective for many years now, and we keep our eye on them. It's only a matter of time before they succeed in pushing through a boycott motion.
As with the vegetarian restaurant above (or for instance Tsunami Sushi and Sake Bar, also one of the sponsors) it is immaterial to me what they do - I do not frequent their establishment.
I rather suspect the funk of their average customer would be enough to chase me out. I do not like blond dreadlocks and unwashed tie-dyes.
Here is the letter that he sent informing them of his displeasure:
From: Max
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2008 3:09 PM
To: info@herbivorerestaurant.com
Subject: Corporate sponsorship of Nakba event
To whom it may concern,
I am surprised to see that Herbivore is listed as one of the corporate sponsors of the Nakba-60, FREE Palestine, Peace and Solidarity Festival.
I assume that you have researched both the event in question, and the implications of their stand regarding the Israel-Palestine issues. And can I therefore also assume that you are entirely comfortable with the destruction of Israel as inherent in their point of view, which would be the inevitable consequence of any of their positions becoming reality.
If that is indeed so, I can only assume that you neither appreciate the custom which many in the community have given you over the years, nor disagree with the anti-Semitism that has been displayed by the organizers of this event and their associates over the years, and which has been a blatant part of their political stand from the beginning.
That being the case I will no longer patronize any of your establishments. I only regret that I ever did so in the past. Rest assured that I will diligently inform as many people as possible of your reprehensible politics and recommend that they also cease their patronage.
------Max
------------------------------------
The restaurant mentioned in his letter:
http://www.herbivorerestaurant.com/
Three locations: 983 Valencia Street, 531 Divisadero, and 2451 Shattuck in Berkeley.
Listing of sponsors of May tenth Nakba event (click on sponsors):
http://www.araborganizing.org/main.html
Several of the usual haters, and some who are new to organized anti-Semitism.
Rainbow Grocery shows up in the guise of 'Rainbow Boycott Israeli Goods Campaign'. There has been an anti-Semitic element among the members of that collective for many years now, and we keep our eye on them. It's only a matter of time before they succeed in pushing through a boycott motion.
As with the vegetarian restaurant above (or for instance Tsunami Sushi and Sake Bar, also one of the sponsors) it is immaterial to me what they do - I do not frequent their establishment.
I rather suspect the funk of their average customer would be enough to chase me out. I do not like blond dreadlocks and unwashed tie-dyes.
MAY FIFTH
Today is a day of celebration.
What are we celebrating exactly?
The anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, of course.
"Las armas nacionales se han cubierto de gloria."
On May fifth, 1862, general Ignacio Zaragoza and four and a half thousand Mexicans defeated a larger and much better equipped French army outside the city of Puebla. While the French went on to dominate Mexico for a couple of years, even imposing an emperor as ruler over Mexico, this native victory marked a crucial morale-boost for the republican forces, and the beginning of the end of colonialist domination.
We were in the thick of our own civil war at the time. Never-the-less, there were Tejanos and Californios on the right side at Puebla. Which is one of the reasons why Cinco de Mayo is big in California and Texas, though not a major holiday in Mexico outside of the state of Puebla.
Note: General Zaragoza did not survive the year, dying of typhoid fever on September 8, 1862 at age 33. Eight days later, President Juárez officially made the anniversary of the La Batalla de Puebla a national holiday. The French were finally defeated in 1867.
What are we celebrating exactly?
The anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, of course.
"Las armas nacionales se han cubierto de gloria."
On May fifth, 1862, general Ignacio Zaragoza and four and a half thousand Mexicans defeated a larger and much better equipped French army outside the city of Puebla. While the French went on to dominate Mexico for a couple of years, even imposing an emperor as ruler over Mexico, this native victory marked a crucial morale-boost for the republican forces, and the beginning of the end of colonialist domination.
We were in the thick of our own civil war at the time. Never-the-less, there were Tejanos and Californios on the right side at Puebla. Which is one of the reasons why Cinco de Mayo is big in California and Texas, though not a major holiday in Mexico outside of the state of Puebla.
Note: General Zaragoza did not survive the year, dying of typhoid fever on September 8, 1862 at age 33. Eight days later, President Juárez officially made the anniversary of the La Batalla de Puebla a national holiday. The French were finally defeated in 1867.
Friday, May 02, 2008
AN ATTEMPT TO NUANCE AND SPIN-DOCTOR THE DESCRIPTION 'FRIGGIN' CLUELESS'
My recent post entitled "ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF BAY AREA JEWS BEING SO FRIGGIN' CLUELESS YOU WONDER WHERE THEIR HEADS ARE", which appeared both on this blog and as a crosspost at Jameel's (http://muqata.blogspot.com/) prompted a contra-comment from Dan (http://lifeinthedanlane.blogspot.com/).
Dan wrote:
Please do not imply that all of the Jews, or even a majority, support the wacko anti-Zionist Jews.
The vast majority of Jews in the Bay Area are Zionist, even those afraid to say so in public in front of their far leftist friends.
It is true that we have more than our fair share of anti-Zionists and other wackjobs, but it is no more fair to call us Bay Area Jews "friggin' clueless" than it is to label all blacks as criminals, all Arabs as terrorists, or all Haredim as gay stabbing child raping intolerants due to the actions of a small minority.
Blogger Friar Yid (not Shlita) http://friaryid.blogspot.com/ also responded.
Friar Yid commented:
You're basically right on this, Dan, though I'd modify it and say that there is probably a sizable Zionist number of BA Jews, who unfortunately aren't as visible as their counterparts, with a silent majority that probably thinks Israel is good or at least "fine" but doesn't feel the need to go out and fight with protesters about it.
You can criticize the latter group for their apathy, B.O.T.H., but it's unfair to conflate that with actually supporting the nuts.
Okay. I accept their points.
I could split hairs and say that I didn't say all, but just indicated that there were Jews in the Bay Area who are f-verb clueless. But that doesn't diminish the effect, which was an implication that ALL are thus.
That was not the intent - I do indeed realize that it is not all. Unlike the SF Chronicle, who couldn't see five thousand pro-Israel Jews in Justin Herman Plaza on April 14th, 2002 (they were there for several hours, but the SF Chronicle made utterly no mention of that demonstration), I can and do see pro-Israel Jews here in the Bay Area.
Though sometimes not nearly enough of them.
I also see far too many anti-Israel Jews.
That is a subjective judgment, however. From my point of view all we need is ONE anti-Israel Jew to satisfactorily prove that indeed there is a diversity of opinion on the subject. But because there are several hundred if not a few thousand of them in San Francisco et environs, and at least several hundred of them who scream and shout and won't shut up, and get interviewed at the drop of a hat by every radio-station talk-jock or tin-can reporter who wants to highlight his or her own anti-Israel agenda while hiding behind a Jew-of-convenience, there are far too many of them.
Here in the Bay Area, the Jews who support Israel sometimes seem invisible, but the Jews who have decided to piss on everything are extremely visible. This is not a question only of perception, but of the tendency of the Bay Area to hold up the loud anti-Israel Jew as the example. Being anti-Israel wins you praise and love, while being pro-Israel gets you a fight in a bar.
Anyone (Jew or Gentile) who supports Israel will be called names, or have their sanity, humanity, and loyalty questioned by his or her associates, whereas a strident anti-Israel Jew is treated like a paragon of all the civilized virtues.
A Jew who supports Israel may be considered a divisive element in their synagogue or at work. A Jew who criticizes Israel ad nauseum is considered a team-player capable of understanding other points of view.
A supporter of Israel will often be considered, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, to be an ultra right-wing racist nutjob - by Jew and Gentile alike. But the anti-Israel Jew obediently and enthusiastically shouts down that pro-Israel nutcase while the majority happily sit back and smile approvingly.
The 'cluelessness' is in the pretense that there are two equal sides and that the truth lies somewhere between their opposing points of view - relativism at its worst.
The 'friggin' cluelessness' lies in assuming that despite all evidence to the contrary in the Bay Area the right side still has the support of the majority and if we just ignore the public demonstrations of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiment, those people have no influence. That is compromise with the devil at best, 'head-firmly-up-one's-donkey' at worst.
We have already lost Holland and Britain - many more people in those countries believe that Israel is a threat to world peace than support Israel's right to defend herself. Far too many there oppose Israel in everything while supporting any and all Palestinian actions.
France and Germany are as much a blessing as a curse in that regard. Europe, as a whole, is barely on our side. Western European public opinion is overwhelmingly and often uncritically pro-Pal.
Here in the US, the Bay Area most resembles Europe. It is perhaps an exaggeration to also compare the Bay Area to pre-war Europe at this stage. But not by much.
Dan wrote:
Please do not imply that all of the Jews, or even a majority, support the wacko anti-Zionist Jews.
The vast majority of Jews in the Bay Area are Zionist, even those afraid to say so in public in front of their far leftist friends.
It is true that we have more than our fair share of anti-Zionists and other wackjobs, but it is no more fair to call us Bay Area Jews "friggin' clueless" than it is to label all blacks as criminals, all Arabs as terrorists, or all Haredim as gay stabbing child raping intolerants due to the actions of a small minority.
Blogger Friar Yid (not Shlita) http://friaryid.blogspot.com/ also responded.
Friar Yid commented:
You're basically right on this, Dan, though I'd modify it and say that there is probably a sizable Zionist number of BA Jews, who unfortunately aren't as visible as their counterparts, with a silent majority that probably thinks Israel is good or at least "fine" but doesn't feel the need to go out and fight with protesters about it.
You can criticize the latter group for their apathy, B.O.T.H., but it's unfair to conflate that with actually supporting the nuts.
Okay. I accept their points.
I could split hairs and say that I didn't say all, but just indicated that there were Jews in the Bay Area who are f-verb clueless. But that doesn't diminish the effect, which was an implication that ALL are thus.
That was not the intent - I do indeed realize that it is not all. Unlike the SF Chronicle, who couldn't see five thousand pro-Israel Jews in Justin Herman Plaza on April 14th, 2002 (they were there for several hours, but the SF Chronicle made utterly no mention of that demonstration), I can and do see pro-Israel Jews here in the Bay Area.
Though sometimes not nearly enough of them.
I also see far too many anti-Israel Jews.
That is a subjective judgment, however. From my point of view all we need is ONE anti-Israel Jew to satisfactorily prove that indeed there is a diversity of opinion on the subject. But because there are several hundred if not a few thousand of them in San Francisco et environs, and at least several hundred of them who scream and shout and won't shut up, and get interviewed at the drop of a hat by every radio-station talk-jock or tin-can reporter who wants to highlight his or her own anti-Israel agenda while hiding behind a Jew-of-convenience, there are far too many of them.
Here in the Bay Area, the Jews who support Israel sometimes seem invisible, but the Jews who have decided to piss on everything are extremely visible. This is not a question only of perception, but of the tendency of the Bay Area to hold up the loud anti-Israel Jew as the example. Being anti-Israel wins you praise and love, while being pro-Israel gets you a fight in a bar.
Anyone (Jew or Gentile) who supports Israel will be called names, or have their sanity, humanity, and loyalty questioned by his or her associates, whereas a strident anti-Israel Jew is treated like a paragon of all the civilized virtues.
A Jew who supports Israel may be considered a divisive element in their synagogue or at work. A Jew who criticizes Israel ad nauseum is considered a team-player capable of understanding other points of view.
A supporter of Israel will often be considered, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, to be an ultra right-wing racist nutjob - by Jew and Gentile alike. But the anti-Israel Jew obediently and enthusiastically shouts down that pro-Israel nutcase while the majority happily sit back and smile approvingly.
The 'cluelessness' is in the pretense that there are two equal sides and that the truth lies somewhere between their opposing points of view - relativism at its worst.
The 'friggin' cluelessness' lies in assuming that despite all evidence to the contrary in the Bay Area the right side still has the support of the majority and if we just ignore the public demonstrations of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiment, those people have no influence. That is compromise with the devil at best, 'head-firmly-up-one's-donkey' at worst.
We have already lost Holland and Britain - many more people in those countries believe that Israel is a threat to world peace than support Israel's right to defend herself. Far too many there oppose Israel in everything while supporting any and all Palestinian actions.
France and Germany are as much a blessing as a curse in that regard. Europe, as a whole, is barely on our side. Western European public opinion is overwhelmingly and often uncritically pro-Pal.
Here in the US, the Bay Area most resembles Europe. It is perhaps an exaggeration to also compare the Bay Area to pre-war Europe at this stage. But not by much.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
IT WASN'T THE GARDEN GNOME!
At least, that seems to be the general understanding now. Though last night it was a different matter. Both Perry and Libby seemed convinced that the "poisonous little midget" had spilled the beans and posted it on internet.
[This refers to the notice trolling for anti-Zionist Jews willing to get arrested for breaking and entering that was posted by Jim Harris yesterday on IndyBay.]
The JAZAL (Jewish Anti-Zionist Activist Lesbians) seem fairly certain that it couldn't have been Jim himself, because he tends to waffle on so - this notice was short and to the point. Some of Jimmie's more anti-Israel writings tend to be manifestoes of inordinate length, and he can't help boasting about them.
Besides, while Jim has connections with almost all of the local hate groups (ALAWDA, JVP, WIB, ISM, ANSWER), and seems happy to jump into the organizational sack with almost any anti-Semite there is, he isn't known for original thinking, and no one tells him anything. At least, that's the considered input of Kate. She also has a low opinion of Jim. And that may affect her assessment of the poor man.
So, Jimmyboy, you're off the hook. Not entirely in the white, and you might want to keep a set of eyes in the back of your head from what I hear, but you're no longer at the top of the list. This at least according to "the other Penny". Who thinks you look like a garden gnome. I don't think she likes garden gnomes, by the way. Count your blessings you don't look like a flamingo.
---------
PS. Yes, I know it looks like I know way too many lesbians. And maybe I do. But not all of them are psychos. Not even the majority. Most of them are absolutely normal.
PS. no. II: Jim, we still don't know what those bitches are planning, so if you hear anything else do PLEASE let us know. We're dying to find out.
[This refers to the notice trolling for anti-Zionist Jews willing to get arrested for breaking and entering that was posted by Jim Harris yesterday on IndyBay.]
The JAZAL (Jewish Anti-Zionist Activist Lesbians) seem fairly certain that it couldn't have been Jim himself, because he tends to waffle on so - this notice was short and to the point. Some of Jimmie's more anti-Israel writings tend to be manifestoes of inordinate length, and he can't help boasting about them.
Besides, while Jim has connections with almost all of the local hate groups (ALAWDA, JVP, WIB, ISM, ANSWER), and seems happy to jump into the organizational sack with almost any anti-Semite there is, he isn't known for original thinking, and no one tells him anything. At least, that's the considered input of Kate. She also has a low opinion of Jim. And that may affect her assessment of the poor man.
So, Jimmyboy, you're off the hook. Not entirely in the white, and you might want to keep a set of eyes in the back of your head from what I hear, but you're no longer at the top of the list. This at least according to "the other Penny". Who thinks you look like a garden gnome. I don't think she likes garden gnomes, by the way. Count your blessings you don't look like a flamingo.
---------
PS. Yes, I know it looks like I know way too many lesbians. And maybe I do. But not all of them are psychos. Not even the majority. Most of them are absolutely normal.
PS. no. II: Jim, we still don't know what those bitches are planning, so if you hear anything else do PLEASE let us know. We're dying to find out.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF BAY AREA JEWS BEING SO FRIGGIN' CLUELESS YOU WONDER WHERE THEIR HEADS ARE
[Cross-posted over at the Muqata http://muqata.blogspot.com/ (file this under news of the weird).]
There's a notice on Indybay (SF Indy media) calling for anti-Israel Jews to volunteer for direct action and get arrested on behalf of the Palestinians.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/28/18495604.php
Contrary to what you might think, there is no coven of Neturei Kartaniks here - unless they are very well hidden. The organizers and their intended volunteers are from the segment of Jewry which can best be described as "Jews of convenience". Meaning that they only admit to being Jewish if they can use it against Jews or against Israel. Jews who give plausible deniability to anti-Semites and supporters of Hamas and Hezbollah. Decorative Jews.
Here is part of the notice on Indybay:
Calling anti-Zionist and non-Zionist Jews and those in solidarity with the Palestinian Liberation struggle!
There is growing enthusiasm and support for an action to confront celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel.
In honor of 60 plus years of Palestinian resistance and against the siege on Gaza, there is a critical need for fierce Jewish dissent with these celebrations.
We need 60-80 Jews to take arrest and as many Jewish & non-Jewish Palestine Solidarity activists as possible to participate more broadly.
The action will include visual and creative resistance and direct action. We have a date, time and a plan and we are hoping that you will join us.
Sounds chirpy, doesn't it? Kinda like the glee-club is throwing a party. Almost makes ya want to send them a beer keg. In which case, it is probably a good thing that they tell you where to send the keg. It continues:
It is critical to attend a planning meeting for details: the next planning meeting will be Wednesday, April 30 at 522 Valencia St., SF.
Orientations will be Sunday, May 4th from 12noon to 2pm in the East Bay and from 7:30 to 9:30pm in SF — it is critical to attend an orientation in order to hear the plan, location, and meeting place and time (please e-mail below for date and location).
Please e-mail BAnakbaorganizing [at] gmail.com with your name, phone number, participation interest, and how you heard about the action. Someone will call you about participating in the action.
Now, if you're reading this, you're probably wondering "surely they aren't that meshugge? Surely they don't think that this wins them any kind of cosmic brownie-points?
Sorry, but yes they are that meshugge, and yes they do indeed believe that this wins them bucket-loads of cosmic brownie-points. This is the Bay Area we're talking about; the place where 'if it can't be solved with wheat germ and tofu, it's gotta be a Zionist plot'.
---------------
On a related note, one of the pro-Palestinian organizers in the Bay Area recently moved here from Minneapolis St. Paul - Perry Bellow-Handelman. She was very active there in Jewish Community Action, gay organizing, and boycotting a major corporation because of it's labour and environmental sins.
I guess we now also import our Israel hate. We're so friggin' lucky.
Here in the Bay Area, being pro-Israel counts as a dangerous eccentricity. Or a perversion on par with being a smoker or a chicken strangler.
-----B.O.T.H.
There's a notice on Indybay (SF Indy media) calling for anti-Israel Jews to volunteer for direct action and get arrested on behalf of the Palestinians.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/28/18495604.php
Contrary to what you might think, there is no coven of Neturei Kartaniks here - unless they are very well hidden. The organizers and their intended volunteers are from the segment of Jewry which can best be described as "Jews of convenience". Meaning that they only admit to being Jewish if they can use it against Jews or against Israel. Jews who give plausible deniability to anti-Semites and supporters of Hamas and Hezbollah. Decorative Jews.
Here is part of the notice on Indybay:
Calling anti-Zionist and non-Zionist Jews and those in solidarity with the Palestinian Liberation struggle!
There is growing enthusiasm and support for an action to confront celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel.
In honor of 60 plus years of Palestinian resistance and against the siege on Gaza, there is a critical need for fierce Jewish dissent with these celebrations.
We need 60-80 Jews to take arrest and as many Jewish & non-Jewish Palestine Solidarity activists as possible to participate more broadly.
The action will include visual and creative resistance and direct action. We have a date, time and a plan and we are hoping that you will join us.
Sounds chirpy, doesn't it? Kinda like the glee-club is throwing a party. Almost makes ya want to send them a beer keg. In which case, it is probably a good thing that they tell you where to send the keg. It continues:
It is critical to attend a planning meeting for details: the next planning meeting will be Wednesday, April 30 at 522 Valencia St., SF.
Orientations will be Sunday, May 4th from 12noon to 2pm in the East Bay and from 7:30 to 9:30pm in SF — it is critical to attend an orientation in order to hear the plan, location, and meeting place and time (please e-mail below for date and location).
Please e-mail BAnakbaorganizing [at] gmail.com with your name, phone number, participation interest, and how you heard about the action. Someone will call you about participating in the action.
Now, if you're reading this, you're probably wondering "surely they aren't that meshugge? Surely they don't think that this wins them any kind of cosmic brownie-points?
Sorry, but yes they are that meshugge, and yes they do indeed believe that this wins them bucket-loads of cosmic brownie-points. This is the Bay Area we're talking about; the place where 'if it can't be solved with wheat germ and tofu, it's gotta be a Zionist plot'.
---------------
On a related note, one of the pro-Palestinian organizers in the Bay Area recently moved here from Minneapolis St. Paul - Perry Bellow-Handelman. She was very active there in Jewish Community Action, gay organizing, and boycotting a major corporation because of it's labour and environmental sins.
I guess we now also import our Israel hate. We're so friggin' lucky.
Here in the Bay Area, being pro-Israel counts as a dangerous eccentricity. Or a perversion on par with being a smoker or a chicken strangler.
-----B.O.T.H.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
POOR THING!
I was outside on the sidewalk having a smoke.
And I thought: "that's an ugly woman".
Then I thought: "no, that's an ugly man."
"With a bad haircut."
After that I came back inside.
And I thought: "that's an ugly woman".
Then I thought: "no, that's an ugly man."
"With a bad haircut."
After that I came back inside.
JUST CHEESE
I didn't have much of an appetite today, so I though I would have a simple cheese sandwich for lunch.
That, apparently, is a radical concept that boggles minds. The lady at the sandwich shop didn't stop at boggle, but without confirming her hunch leapt straight through to sausage! And asked what else. Not anything else, thank you, only the cheese.
Paid. Crossed street, up thirteen floors, back at my desk.
WTF?
Sausage?
Not cheese?
Down thirteen floors, crossed street, endeavored to make clear what the ... 'beef' of my issue was. And she on her part endeavored to grasp what this crazy person was saying, and correct the situation.
Thank you, bye. Crossed street, up thirteen floors, back at my desk.
WTF?
Sausage?
AND cheese?
Down thirteen floors, crossed street. Explained to everyone. Oh, okay, we finally get it, nods all round. A brand new product. Crossed street, up thirteen floors, back at my desk.
I now own a sandwich on which there is just cheese. Nothing else, just cheese.
Some lettuce and tomato would've been nice.
------------------------------------------
So why do I have a lunch demand so unusual that it baffled the good ladies across the street? Well, I left work at three o'clock on Thursday (five days ago) feeling quite wankle. By four o'clock I was in bed. By five I was curled up in a tight shivering ball wondering why it was so horribly cold and why the bed was trying to hurt me. Did it suddenly hate me or resent my clear intellectual superiority? Mean bastard, why, I might just do something to get even...... if only it wasn't so buggery cold.
I maintained that position and that sense of wonder till late Saturday afternoon. On Monday I went down to Doctor Jew's office in Chinatown. I was no longer a tight paranoid ball, but I lacked energy and seemed to have gained several inches around my neck.
"Say 'aah'. Again. And again, please. [Palps area immediately under jawline.] My, those glands are nice and swollen, yes sirree, rarely seen them quite so... You've got pharyngitis. Let's get you on some azithromycin."
Turns out pharyngitis is a nice scientific term for "we don't really know what's wrong, it's probably just a seasonal respiratory infection, bacterial we're guessing in your case, not strep cause you aren't in anything like the pain you were in the last time you were here". Yep.
The gamble is this: "if it's bacterial, the azithromycin will axe it. If it's viral, it will probably have been axed by your body by the time you finish the azithromicin. Unless it's mononucleosis - in which case, if you're still sick by the time the pills are gone, we might want to do a test. As an intellectual exercise, of course."
What does any of this have to with a cheese sandwich?
I shall explain. I didn't eat anything from Thursday lunch till Saturday night. No appetite. Then I had half a bowl of rice. Little appetite on Sunday (aggregate total: one bowl of rice). Had a splotch of Indian style rice pudding on Monday for lunch, and a tiny bit of rice soup with chicken bits in the evening. Eh, not much of an appetite. And the azythromicin is playing havoc with my digestive boojums, so I don't want to push the envelope stomach-wise. No bells or whistles, no hecatombs of juicy dead beast. I just wanted a cheese sandwich. And that's what I got.
That, apparently, is a radical concept that boggles minds. The lady at the sandwich shop didn't stop at boggle, but without confirming her hunch leapt straight through to sausage! And asked what else. Not anything else, thank you, only the cheese.
Paid. Crossed street, up thirteen floors, back at my desk.
WTF?
Sausage?
Not cheese?
Down thirteen floors, crossed street, endeavored to make clear what the ... 'beef' of my issue was. And she on her part endeavored to grasp what this crazy person was saying, and correct the situation.
Thank you, bye. Crossed street, up thirteen floors, back at my desk.
WTF?
Sausage?
AND cheese?
Down thirteen floors, crossed street. Explained to everyone. Oh, okay, we finally get it, nods all round. A brand new product. Crossed street, up thirteen floors, back at my desk.
I now own a sandwich on which there is just cheese. Nothing else, just cheese.
Some lettuce and tomato would've been nice.
------------------------------------------
So why do I have a lunch demand so unusual that it baffled the good ladies across the street? Well, I left work at three o'clock on Thursday (five days ago) feeling quite wankle. By four o'clock I was in bed. By five I was curled up in a tight shivering ball wondering why it was so horribly cold and why the bed was trying to hurt me. Did it suddenly hate me or resent my clear intellectual superiority? Mean bastard, why, I might just do something to get even...... if only it wasn't so buggery cold.
I maintained that position and that sense of wonder till late Saturday afternoon. On Monday I went down to Doctor Jew's office in Chinatown. I was no longer a tight paranoid ball, but I lacked energy and seemed to have gained several inches around my neck.
"Say 'aah'. Again. And again, please. [Palps area immediately under jawline.] My, those glands are nice and swollen, yes sirree, rarely seen them quite so... You've got pharyngitis. Let's get you on some azithromycin."
Turns out pharyngitis is a nice scientific term for "we don't really know what's wrong, it's probably just a seasonal respiratory infection, bacterial we're guessing in your case, not strep cause you aren't in anything like the pain you were in the last time you were here". Yep.
The gamble is this: "if it's bacterial, the azithromycin will axe it. If it's viral, it will probably have been axed by your body by the time you finish the azithromicin. Unless it's mononucleosis - in which case, if you're still sick by the time the pills are gone, we might want to do a test. As an intellectual exercise, of course."
What does any of this have to with a cheese sandwich?
I shall explain. I didn't eat anything from Thursday lunch till Saturday night. No appetite. Then I had half a bowl of rice. Little appetite on Sunday (aggregate total: one bowl of rice). Had a splotch of Indian style rice pudding on Monday for lunch, and a tiny bit of rice soup with chicken bits in the evening. Eh, not much of an appetite. And the azythromicin is playing havoc with my digestive boojums, so I don't want to push the envelope stomach-wise. No bells or whistles, no hecatombs of juicy dead beast. I just wanted a cheese sandwich. And that's what I got.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
RUN-AWAY TRAIN
Something e-kvetcher said set off a train of mental associations. This post is dedicated to him in consequence, and you may blame him of you wish.
CHOLENT
One of the things which many people eat with "affection" on shabbes afternoon is cholent (tsholnt: chaud-lent; mediaeval French: slow heat), which is a compound of meat, vegetables, and lentils similar to both Parsi Dhansak and industrial strength spackle, and just as dangerous. According to reliable reports, cholent may contribute to heart disease, arterial sclerosis, obesity, erectile dysfunction, and depression, and may actually have caused the premature demise of more Jews than anything else in history.
It is prepared by placing the filled casserole in a dying oven on Friday before shkiya, so as to be ready to eat on Saturday around midday. But perhaps you should try beid b’hamam instead? Or even some tasty Cassoulet?
Per a discussion in meseches Kilayim (vessels), cholent is quite similar to what Yakov fed Esav, as described in Sefer Bereishis, Parshas Toldos, psook 25:29 - 30: "Va yazed Yakov nazid, va yavo Esav min ha sade ve hu ayef" ('And Jacob seethed a pottage, and Esau, coming from the field, and being faint'), "va yomer Esav el Yakov, haleiteni na min ha adom, ha adom haze ki ayef anochi - al ken kara shemo Edom" ('and Esau said to Jacob ‘let me, I beg of you, have some of this red red pottage, for I am faint – wherefore would he be called Edom').
In short, Yakov wheezled Esav’s birthright out of him in return for some beandip, nebech.
[A metzia. Such a gonif, that Yakov, tssk tssk.]
Note that Edom means 'redness', just as ‘ha adom ha adom’ emphatically points to an intense red. These both derive from adama (earth - think of red clay), whence Adam, the first man, who was made of clay. As in our day only a golem is.
[Golem = A being without a will of it’s own, created to perform the wishes of it’s master; a politician, a State Department functionary. The cognate in Arabic (gulam) means slave.]
Once Esav recovered from the worst indigestion he had ever experienced, he realized that he had been had. Since then, Esav has looked upon Yakov with disfavour.
We are much more fortunate – we have an entire row of stomach medicines at Walgreen’s; everything from pink goo-swill for acid, purple pills for reflux, green once-a-days, E-Z Pepsid, various fruit-flavoured chalk-o-tabs for bile and gas, and swallowable charcoal compounds, to complex chemical cocktails which either tighten you up or loosen you down, plus a wide choice of fibrous substances for regularity, and clay & pectin blends for firmness and smooth passage. Kaolin is a mitzvah!
[But you have to wait (unless you stocked up since last Saturday). The end of shabbes brings as much joy as the beginning did - it ain’t just the bsomim either.]
DHANSAK
Jews are not the only tribe that favour methane-fruit bio-hazards for their day of rest - Parsees like to enjoy a fine dhansak on the weekend, followed by either a long and gut-rumbling-disturbed nap, or a half-hearted attempt at pru-urvu in the sweltering tropic heat of a Bombay afternoon.
[Dhansak = A Parsee dish of mixed lentils, meat (mutton), red pumpkin, kasoori methi (fenugreek leaf), and spices, slow stewed, and served with browned rice and potato croquettes or chicken kababs (marghi ni pattice), often on the weekend.]
Busy Bee (nom de guerre of the journalist, editor, and food-meyven Mr. Behram Contractor, himself a Parsee), often waxed eloquent in his columns for The Afternoon Despatch & Courier about this quintessential Parsee dish.
In his column on August 23, 1991 Busy Bee lamented that "the best restaurants for dhansak are closed. Café Health off Meadows Streets, where old waiters moved about in waist-coats and gave brass finger-bowls at the end of the meal; (--) Patuck next door, and Victory Stall on Apollo Bunder..."
[I wonder what caused 'em to close. Maybe it was artery-clog from too much Parsi Dairy ghee....... Pity though, they sound delightful.]
Excellent dhansak may still be had at the Ripon club, opposite Bombay University, and at CCI and Royal Yacht Club – but these are private clubs, and one must be invited.
So fond are Parsees of their dhansak, that they are nicknamed Dhansakiyas, just like Sindhis have become ‘Papad-khor’.
I think once peysach is over I'll go in search of some methi bhaji, and perhaps some pumpkin. I feel an urge coming on.
CHOLENT
One of the things which many people eat with "affection" on shabbes afternoon is cholent (tsholnt: chaud-lent; mediaeval French: slow heat), which is a compound of meat, vegetables, and lentils similar to both Parsi Dhansak and industrial strength spackle, and just as dangerous. According to reliable reports, cholent may contribute to heart disease, arterial sclerosis, obesity, erectile dysfunction, and depression, and may actually have caused the premature demise of more Jews than anything else in history.
It is prepared by placing the filled casserole in a dying oven on Friday before shkiya, so as to be ready to eat on Saturday around midday. But perhaps you should try beid b’hamam instead? Or even some tasty Cassoulet?
Per a discussion in meseches Kilayim (vessels), cholent is quite similar to what Yakov fed Esav, as described in Sefer Bereishis, Parshas Toldos, psook 25:29 - 30: "Va yazed Yakov nazid, va yavo Esav min ha sade ve hu ayef" ('And Jacob seethed a pottage, and Esau, coming from the field, and being faint'), "va yomer Esav el Yakov, haleiteni na min ha adom, ha adom haze ki ayef anochi - al ken kara shemo Edom" ('and Esau said to Jacob ‘let me, I beg of you, have some of this red red pottage, for I am faint – wherefore would he be called Edom').
In short, Yakov wheezled Esav’s birthright out of him in return for some beandip, nebech.
[A metzia. Such a gonif, that Yakov, tssk tssk.]
Note that Edom means 'redness', just as ‘ha adom ha adom’ emphatically points to an intense red. These both derive from adama (earth - think of red clay), whence Adam, the first man, who was made of clay. As in our day only a golem is.
[Golem = A being without a will of it’s own, created to perform the wishes of it’s master; a politician, a State Department functionary. The cognate in Arabic (gulam) means slave.]
Once Esav recovered from the worst indigestion he had ever experienced, he realized that he had been had. Since then, Esav has looked upon Yakov with disfavour.
We are much more fortunate – we have an entire row of stomach medicines at Walgreen’s; everything from pink goo-swill for acid, purple pills for reflux, green once-a-days, E-Z Pepsid, various fruit-flavoured chalk-o-tabs for bile and gas, and swallowable charcoal compounds, to complex chemical cocktails which either tighten you up or loosen you down, plus a wide choice of fibrous substances for regularity, and clay & pectin blends for firmness and smooth passage. Kaolin is a mitzvah!
[But you have to wait (unless you stocked up since last Saturday). The end of shabbes brings as much joy as the beginning did - it ain’t just the bsomim either.]
DHANSAK
Jews are not the only tribe that favour methane-fruit bio-hazards for their day of rest - Parsees like to enjoy a fine dhansak on the weekend, followed by either a long and gut-rumbling-disturbed nap, or a half-hearted attempt at pru-urvu in the sweltering tropic heat of a Bombay afternoon.
[Dhansak = A Parsee dish of mixed lentils, meat (mutton), red pumpkin, kasoori methi (fenugreek leaf), and spices, slow stewed, and served with browned rice and potato croquettes or chicken kababs (marghi ni pattice), often on the weekend.]
Busy Bee (nom de guerre of the journalist, editor, and food-meyven Mr. Behram Contractor, himself a Parsee), often waxed eloquent in his columns for The Afternoon Despatch & Courier about this quintessential Parsee dish.
In his column on August 23, 1991 Busy Bee lamented that "the best restaurants for dhansak are closed. Café Health off Meadows Streets, where old waiters moved about in waist-coats and gave brass finger-bowls at the end of the meal; (--) Patuck next door, and Victory Stall on Apollo Bunder..."
[I wonder what caused 'em to close. Maybe it was artery-clog from too much Parsi Dairy ghee....... Pity though, they sound delightful.]
Excellent dhansak may still be had at the Ripon club, opposite Bombay University, and at CCI and Royal Yacht Club – but these are private clubs, and one must be invited.
So fond are Parsees of their dhansak, that they are nicknamed Dhansakiyas, just like Sindhis have become ‘Papad-khor’.
I think once peysach is over I'll go in search of some methi bhaji, and perhaps some pumpkin. I feel an urge coming on.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
TALL FLAKY BUILDINGS?
A very long time ago I knew someone who lived in Kennedy Town, which is on Hong Kong Island, and not named after an American President who was a notorious sex fiend, OR his brother.
Kennedy Town is a residential area along the water named after the seventh governor of Hong Kong, who also at various times administered parts of Africa, Australia, and Canada.
He was a typical English colonialist, whose personal life was, apparently, unexceptional. No eccentric peccadilloes to mention.
He lived in HK from 1872 till 1877.
The main reason for naming a housing district after him is that under his directions a strip of land along the harbour, looking out toward the mainland, was reclaimed.
Now, you can understand that as a Dutchman, land reclamation fascinates me. Eventually we'll have so much of the North Sea dyked off that we'll be able to invade England by paddling for a few minutes.
I am looking avariciously at Norfolk.
Estuarine swamps!
Kennedy Town is not an architecturally or culturally exciting place. Foodwise it is fun, but it is rather a way off. Middling folk live there.
Street vendors are few.
Mostly bedroom.
My friend moved out years ago.
His sister spent a year in Valkenswaard before moving to Deurne. Neither of those towns are very exciting either. Her aunt in Eindhoven had a chubby son who was the cantaloupe of his mom's eye.
Eindhoven can be exciting, at times.
It's sort of middling.
The only other thing that ties geographic location A (Kennedy Town, Hong Kong) and geographic location B (The Kempen Region, in North Brabant) together, other than the familial ties of friends, is multi-storied housing complexes, some in vibrant pink, with flaking exterior paint.
Not much to run an essay on.
The territory of the Kempen is too far inland for land reclamation to be in any way a significant factor, in case you were wondering. We're high above those Northerners, by at least a foot or two.
It's the veritable lap of security.
Kennedy Town is a residential area along the water named after the seventh governor of Hong Kong, who also at various times administered parts of Africa, Australia, and Canada.
He was a typical English colonialist, whose personal life was, apparently, unexceptional. No eccentric peccadilloes to mention.
He lived in HK from 1872 till 1877.
The main reason for naming a housing district after him is that under his directions a strip of land along the harbour, looking out toward the mainland, was reclaimed.
Now, you can understand that as a Dutchman, land reclamation fascinates me. Eventually we'll have so much of the North Sea dyked off that we'll be able to invade England by paddling for a few minutes.
I am looking avariciously at Norfolk.
Estuarine swamps!
Kennedy Town is not an architecturally or culturally exciting place. Foodwise it is fun, but it is rather a way off. Middling folk live there.
Street vendors are few.
Mostly bedroom.
My friend moved out years ago.
His sister spent a year in Valkenswaard before moving to Deurne. Neither of those towns are very exciting either. Her aunt in Eindhoven had a chubby son who was the cantaloupe of his mom's eye.
Eindhoven can be exciting, at times.
It's sort of middling.
The only other thing that ties geographic location A (Kennedy Town, Hong Kong) and geographic location B (The Kempen Region, in North Brabant) together, other than the familial ties of friends, is multi-storied housing complexes, some in vibrant pink, with flaking exterior paint.
Not much to run an essay on.
The territory of the Kempen is too far inland for land reclamation to be in any way a significant factor, in case you were wondering. We're high above those Northerners, by at least a foot or two.
It's the veritable lap of security.
MORE MANGA? MORE MANGA! PANTSU?
I am currently reading two manga series set in Japanese high schools.
Japanese high schools all have similar layouts, which allows many readers to automatically relate, and greatly simplifies set-design. Having most of the story take place in a high school or having most of the characters attend high school also gives the author a number of ready-made situations where other characters can be introduced.
And, for fan-service ('decorative feminine visuals'), the baths, sports fields, stairwells, roof tops, etcetera, can all be used for pantsu (views of feminine underwear), accidental bosom gropes, naughty winds that blow up skirts, our hero's face landing in inconvenient places........
However, neither of these two manga series are about fan-service. No pantsu!
桜蘭高校 OURAN HIGH SCHOOL
Ouran High School Host Club is a comedy series that deals with the clichées of manga drawn for a female audience. With the exception of the hero, all main characters are male. Shallow, silly, self-indulgent rich-boy male. But the 'hero' is female - we don't find that out till chapter three.
Of all the boys, our hero (who isn't a boy) is the most likeable. He (she) is drawn in such a way that you cannot tell that he (she) is actually 'that other gender', and in any case 'that other gender' doesn't really enter into the story. What could be homo-eroticism is neutered by the egomania of the boys and the superficiality of their emotions.
[Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouran_High_School_Host_Club]
クロマティ高校 CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL
On the other hand, Cromartie High School is deep. Truly deep.
It's about angst-ridden delinquents. A very texty manga.
Cromartie High School is notorious for having the most violent and under-achieving students. Bullies, thugs, extortionists, criminals, and psychopaths.
Again, no pantsu.
It is by far the better of the two series.
From Wikipedia's entry on Cromartie High School, here are some of the characters:
Yutaka Takenouchi (竹之内豊, Takenōchi Yutaka)
The leader of Cromartie High's first-year students. Known to be an incredible fighter and a reliable person. His weakness (unknown to everyone else) is motion sickness. Though he loves field trips and excursions in general, he hates having to travel because he gets sick very easily, and struggles with all of his might not to vomit.
Gorilla (ゴリラ, Gorira, Hiromi Go (豪ヒロミ, Gō Hiromi))
A gorilla. He sometimes wears a watch and is considered smarter than most of the main characters. He is also an extremely talented sushi chef. He has a sister who looks just like him but has prettier eyes and a red/pink flower on her left ear.
Shinichi Mechazawa (メカ沢新一, Mechazawa Shin'ichi)
One of the most notorious delinquents of Cromartie. Though it is suspected that he is actually a robot, no one but the main characters (Kamiyama, Hayashida, Maeda, etc.) seems to notice, including himself.
[Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromartie_High_School]
I should mention that Savage Kitten has also been reading Cromartie High School. It is somewhat disconcerting, while lying in bed with my first cup of coffee, to hear loud hoots of hysterical laughter from the kitchen. I am not ready for loud anything at that hour. But because it starts her day off with a smile I will tolerate it. Encourage it, even.
This is some good stuff. Even without pantsu.
Japanese high schools all have similar layouts, which allows many readers to automatically relate, and greatly simplifies set-design. Having most of the story take place in a high school or having most of the characters attend high school also gives the author a number of ready-made situations where other characters can be introduced.
And, for fan-service ('decorative feminine visuals'), the baths, sports fields, stairwells, roof tops, etcetera, can all be used for pantsu (views of feminine underwear), accidental bosom gropes, naughty winds that blow up skirts, our hero's face landing in inconvenient places........
However, neither of these two manga series are about fan-service. No pantsu!
桜蘭高校 OURAN HIGH SCHOOL
Ouran High School Host Club is a comedy series that deals with the clichées of manga drawn for a female audience. With the exception of the hero, all main characters are male. Shallow, silly, self-indulgent rich-boy male. But the 'hero' is female - we don't find that out till chapter three.
Of all the boys, our hero (who isn't a boy) is the most likeable. He (she) is drawn in such a way that you cannot tell that he (she) is actually 'that other gender', and in any case 'that other gender' doesn't really enter into the story. What could be homo-eroticism is neutered by the egomania of the boys and the superficiality of their emotions.
[Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouran_High_School_Host_Club]
クロマティ高校 CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL
On the other hand, Cromartie High School is deep. Truly deep.
It's about angst-ridden delinquents. A very texty manga.
Cromartie High School is notorious for having the most violent and under-achieving students. Bullies, thugs, extortionists, criminals, and psychopaths.
Again, no pantsu.
It is by far the better of the two series.
From Wikipedia's entry on Cromartie High School, here are some of the characters:
Yutaka Takenouchi (竹之内豊, Takenōchi Yutaka)
The leader of Cromartie High's first-year students. Known to be an incredible fighter and a reliable person. His weakness (unknown to everyone else) is motion sickness. Though he loves field trips and excursions in general, he hates having to travel because he gets sick very easily, and struggles with all of his might not to vomit.
Gorilla (ゴリラ, Gorira, Hiromi Go (豪ヒロミ, Gō Hiromi))
A gorilla. He sometimes wears a watch and is considered smarter than most of the main characters. He is also an extremely talented sushi chef. He has a sister who looks just like him but has prettier eyes and a red/pink flower on her left ear.
Shinichi Mechazawa (メカ沢新一, Mechazawa Shin'ichi)
One of the most notorious delinquents of Cromartie. Though it is suspected that he is actually a robot, no one but the main characters (Kamiyama, Hayashida, Maeda, etc.) seems to notice, including himself.
[Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromartie_High_School]
I should mention that Savage Kitten has also been reading Cromartie High School. It is somewhat disconcerting, while lying in bed with my first cup of coffee, to hear loud hoots of hysterical laughter from the kitchen. I am not ready for loud anything at that hour. But because it starts her day off with a smile I will tolerate it. Encourage it, even.
This is some good stuff. Even without pantsu.
ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM FACTS
I've parked a usefull list of Israel and Jerusalem facts over on the other side of the lizard:
http://theothersideofthelizard.blogspot.com/2008/04/israel-and-jerusalem-facts.html
Seeing as I'm using that blog (http://theothersideofthelizard.blogspot.com/) as a spare-room, it should be easier to find stuff there than here - this blog is looking mighty like an overcrowded basement at this point (but it will never-the-less continue to be my main blog - I don't mind visitors bumping into things).
http://theothersideofthelizard.blogspot.com/2008/04/israel-and-jerusalem-facts.html
Seeing as I'm using that blog (http://theothersideofthelizard.blogspot.com/) as a spare-room, it should be easier to find stuff there than here - this blog is looking mighty like an overcrowded basement at this point (but it will never-the-less continue to be my main blog - I don't mind visitors bumping into things).
DUTCHMEN AND MOVIE CAMERAS - A BAD MATCH
For crap's sake, keep the Dutchmen away from the video-equipment!
From the DutchNews newsletter:
Jesus is a child of rape says film-maker
Dutch film-maker Paul Verhoeven is to publish a biography of Jesus in which he claims Jesus’ father was probably a Roman soldier who raped Mary during the Jewish uprising, says news agency Reuters. Verhoeven (Basic Instinct, Showgirls) has always wanted to make a film about Jesus.
Clearly, the Dutch should leave moviemaking to Hollywood, Bombay, and Hong Kong - at least they don't make movies that get people killed.
-----B.O.T.H.
PS.: You'd think that after two thousand years of the Jazus shtoos, folks would get tired of talking about him. But nooooooooo......... !!! Oh well, fortunately the xtians don't issue fatawat (fatwas).
PS. no. 2: Good thing he waited till Heston passed away before telling us this. Can you imagine 'Moses' playing the title-role in the Jesus movie? Just two words: thick layers of pancake make-up with spray fixative, and computerized special effects up the wazoo.
From the DutchNews newsletter:
Jesus is a child of rape says film-maker
Dutch film-maker Paul Verhoeven is to publish a biography of Jesus in which he claims Jesus’ father was probably a Roman soldier who raped Mary during the Jewish uprising, says news agency Reuters. Verhoeven (Basic Instinct, Showgirls) has always wanted to make a film about Jesus.
Clearly, the Dutch should leave moviemaking to Hollywood, Bombay, and Hong Kong - at least they don't make movies that get people killed.
-----B.O.T.H.
PS.: You'd think that after two thousand years of the Jazus shtoos, folks would get tired of talking about him. But nooooooooo......... !!! Oh well, fortunately the xtians don't issue fatawat (fatwas).
PS. no. 2: Good thing he waited till Heston passed away before telling us this. Can you imagine 'Moses' playing the title-role in the Jesus movie? Just two words: thick layers of pancake make-up with spray fixative, and computerized special effects up the wazoo.
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SMACK THE FAT MAN
Maybe I should watch more sports so I undestand the language. Because I overheard one of the senile old gentlemen in the backroom exclaim ...
